Manchester United vs. Anderlecht Recap
The Red Devils huffed, and puffed, and after 120 minutes blew the door down.
Wow. After 120 minutes, Manchester United managed to get past Anderlecht 2–1 (3–2 on aggregate). Anderlecht put up a great fight, United were wasteful in front of goal, and both legs were exciting matches. Here are three major takeaways for the winners.
Marcus Rashford is the one.
When the news that Jose Mourinho benched Zlatan Mourinho at the weekend in favor of the United academy product, much was made of the decision. Rashford has not had the same effect on the pitch as he had last season, often playing on the wing to accommodate Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Much has been made of the teenager’s drop in production this season, but he proved his manager right with a goal against Chelsea in a match many expected United to lose before kick off.
Fast forward to today where Rashford plays on the wing, once again accommodating Zlatan. His wing play was far better today than all season. His take ons were electric, his decision making precise and crisp, and was the main threat for United going forward. After Ibra was subbed off due to injury, Rsahford led the line brilliantly and capped it off with an absolutely beautiful goal. The future is bright for the young striker and the sky’s the limit.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic might be done.
After being rested at the weekend in a big match against Chelsea because he was *tired, Ibra was back up top for United in the Europa League (*read: benched). As the founder of the #27ForZlatan movement, I was expecting a return to the scintilating form that Zlatan has displayed this season, dragging a team thats woefully inept at finishing through all their competitions. Instead, Zlatan was horrid in front of goal.
His linkup play was nonexistant, often relying on mispplaced headers for his teammates to chase down and dropping deep because he was isolated out of the game. His striking was abysmal, missing chance after chance, including a few actual howlers that would make Cavani crack a smile. His passing was mistimed and misplaced, either out of frustration or a lack of creativity. Then, he got injured.
Going up for another header, Ibra planted awkwardly on his leg, collapsing to the pitch at the end of the first half of extra time. Knee injuries stink. They’re hard to come back from for young players. One can only imagine how grueling it could be for a 35 year old. Rumors were that a fat paycheck, some sunshine, and a lot of advertisements were waiting for Zlatan in Los Angeles, so his Manchester United career was possibly ending after only one year anyway, but it’s unfortunate if his entire career ends this way. One hopes that this is not the last time we see Ibrahimovic on a pitch.
A charismatic and titanic figure in world football, Zlatan has played for the biggest clubs and has been a part of some of the game’s biggest moments. England finally called his name and he answered. At the age of 35, he came to Manchester United and racked up goals and proved that the old man still had the juice in the tank. If this is it for Ibra, he leaves the game the same way he came in, an enigma and a warrior.
Anthony Martial is a question mark.
Last year’s star boy looks a shell of himself. After a stop start year under new manager Jose Mourinho and off the pitch baby mama drama, a future that looked so bright at Manchester United for Martial is certainly more murky. Jose and Toto have not been seeing eye to eye on things all year.
Mourinho’s carrot and stick approach has worked for some players at United over the course of his first season as boss. Henrick Mkhitaryan and Luke Shaw are two players that come to mind. Even though there’s immense pressure to win at United, Jose has taken his time incorporating certain players into the squad, even if it means not playing his best available XI. Martial seems to be the next on the list.
No one can deny his talent, but it seems that this public/private spat is directly affecting his play. Always a Berbatov-esque, languid figure, his body language today was especially poor. He was repeatedly coming inside and playing more centrally, instead of isolating the fullback and taking him on one on one. It seemed to speak to a lack in confidence and was a far departure from the silky, confident play of last season. Hopefully they can get it sorted out soon because Manchester United are a much better club with Groovy Tony on his A game.
